Review Restrictive vs. Non Restrictive Clauses

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What is a restrictive clause?

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A restrictive clause is a part of a sentence that provides essential information about the noun it modifies. It is necessary for the meaning of the sentence and does not require commas.

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What is a nonrestrictive clause?

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A nonrestrictive clause adds extra information to a sentence but is not essential to its meaning. It is usually set off by commas.

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How do you identify a restrictive clause in a sentence?

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A restrictive clause can be identified by checking if the sentence's meaning changes without it. If it does, the clause is restrictive.

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How do you identify a nonrestrictive clause in a sentence?

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A nonrestrictive clause can be identified by checking if the sentence still makes sense without it. If it does, the clause is nonrestrictive.

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What punctuation is used with nonrestrictive clauses?

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Nonrestrictive clauses are set off by commas.

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What punctuation is used with restrictive clauses?

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Restrictive clauses do not use commas.

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Example of a restrictive clause: 'The book that I borrowed is on the table.' What is the restrictive clause?

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'that I borrowed' is the restrictive clause, providing essential information about which book.

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Example of a nonrestrictive clause: 'My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting.' What is the nonrestrictive clause?

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'who lives in New York' is the nonrestrictive clause, providing extra information about my brother.

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True or False: Nonrestrictive clauses can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning.

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True.

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True or False: Restrictive clauses can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning.

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False.